Park Hyatt Ground Breaking Ceremony

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
June 05, 2013 (CUOPM)

St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister the Right Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas says the decision to establish a Park Hyatt Hotel in St. Kitts is in keeping with his Government’s commitment to expand the number of high-end resorts and boutique hotels, not only enhance the Federation’s appeal to stay-over travelers, but more importantly, to ensure that the stay-over visitors travelling to St. Kitts and Nevis would be able to have the type of overall impact that is being sought.

He told scores of invited guests including Governor General His Excellency Sir Edmund Lawrence; Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Earl Asim Martin; Minister of Tourism, Sen. the Hon. Richard Skerritt; Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Curtis Martin and private and public sector representatives that Park Hyatt St. Kitts at the ground breaking ceremony that when his St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party took office in July 1995, “we embarked on a massive programme of infrastructural expansion in the areas of air and sea ports, telecommunications, roads, airlift and so on. We did so with the specific goal of positioning our St. Kitts to attract the type of investors, and the type of investments, that would best serve the interests of our country and of course our people.”

Prime Minister Douglas noted that Park Hyatt St. Kitts is located within the elegant environs of Christophe Harbour, is a direct result of that vision, it is a direct result of that planning, and investments by the Federal Government.

“This collaboration between your government, the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis, the owners of Christophe Harbour, Range Development, and Park Hyatt to transform Banana Bay from a beautiful part of St. Kitts that has lied dormant for some time, to a-beautiful-part-of-St. Kitts that generates employment, that will be a joint-venture, and which will be having other business opportunities for Kittitians and Nevisians; of course a beautiful part of St. Kitts that will increase revenue flows to the Federal Treasury; and expand the number of exquisite global offerings that Park Hyatt will be able to present to its discerning patrons,” said Prime Minister Douglas.

“We here in St. Kitts and Nevis know that certain dry descriptions and statistics – like smallest nation in the Western Hemisphere; 100 square miles; 50,000 inhabitants –they all belie the wonder that we have long known to be our reality – a reality which discerning travelers and investors have now come to know quite well,” said Prime Minister Douglas.

“Our having had compulsory, free education from kindergarten up to and including high school for almost 50 years now, for example, has a direct bearing on the calibre of employees, the calibre of service providers, and business partners to be found in St. Kitts and Nevis. And this was, from the start, a key component in Labour Governments’ long-range planning. In addition, our emphasis on computer proficiency – nation-wide, our having allocated thousands of acres of sugar lands to our local farmers in order to strengthen the natural symbiosis between tourism and agriculture, and the overall stability that which we have so carefully managed, all combine to make St. Kitts and Nevis an ideal partner for discerning investors, both at home and also abroad,” Prime Minister Douglas said.

Range Developments, he pointed out is an emerging leading real estate developer with a global presence, operating in niche markets far beyond the shores of St. Kitts and Nevis with a mission to create ultra-luxury resorts in areas of exquisite natural beauty.

“As they themselves will tell you, they are known for their luxurious settings, extraordinary architecture, and exceptional service, their primary objective of course being to provide investors access to exceptional real estate developments, in spite of challenging market conditions,” said Prime Minister Douglas who added that the name “Park Hyatt” is synonymous, the world over, with the very highest standards, and a meticulous, unfailing attention to great detail.

“Elegance and luxury is what you get at Park Hyatt”, goes one of their quotations,” said the St. Kitts and Nevis leader, who paid tribute to the vision of Minister of Tourism, The Honourable Ricky Skerritt, for “his skill at leveraging the unique attributes of St. Kitts to benefit those of us who live here, this collaboration between Range Developments, the developers of Christophe Harbour, Park Hyatt, and St. Kitts really represents a very good marriage, indeed.